Putting one foot in front of the other isn't always easy

To race or not to race?

This round of marathon training has been driving me bonkers! I’ve always said that running is more of a mental sport than physical, and training this go around is just driving home that point for me.

I really appreciate you all sticking with me and offering me advice and kind words, especially on my last post 🙂 You guys rock. Seriously.

Thankfully I have been feeling better the past two days. I’ve logged two easy 7 milers that I feel good about. I fully credit my Sunday events, sports massage + yoga, for the way I feel now.

My massage was beyond amazing. Mr. massage therapist stretched me like you would not believe. And yoga was the icing on the cake. My legs feel a little sore from the massage and yoga combo, but nowhere near the level of fatigue and tightness they were at before. I’m going to make back-to-back massage and yoga a weekly tradition until the marathon. My bank account won’t be happy, but if this helps me reach my goal, it’s totally worth it.

And now I’m hoping you, fantabulous readers, have some more words of wisdom in you 😉

Approach 3: Shut up, stop over-thinking everything and just see what happens 😉

My running bible says that either approach 1 or 2 should work well. Advantages include:

Approach 1: “By hitting a faster pace than you plan to run in your target race, your main event will seem easy. It gets your body used to running all-out, to digging deep into its reserves, as you’ll undoubtedly do in your target race.”

Approach 2: “The value of this approach is that you teach your body to really know that target race pace. The slower pace is also easier on the body, so you recover faster. New runners or racers, people prone to injury, or runners concerned that an all-out tune-up might blow their chance of a PR a few weeks hence should consider the target-race-pace approach. It’s also a smart choice if the race calendar forces you to run a tune-up closer to your main event than you’d prefer.” (source)

*Note my half is 22 days before my full marathon. Runner’s World says a half should take place 3 to 5 weeks before a full.

But, of course, both of these approaches assume you’re only running a half marathon and not a 20 miler. Sigh.

I want to run all out and try to PR because that’s how I am. But, I don’t want to be so tired that I can’t finish my last long run and I don’t want to risk not being recovered for my real goal, the marathon.

I hate to say it, but you will not like my advice. I am definitely lame when it comes to this stuff. I just train and do whatever feels good. Let the chips fall where they may. Anytime I start analyzing the situation, I get nervous and want to stop. In order to make it through training, I do the things I like.

That being said, you are pretty much a running rockstar! I’m pretty sure that as soon as the gun goes off, you will run as best you can. Just take it easy on the warm and the cool down…and have fun!

I am not the best person to give advice right now because I’m MAD at running and my body. Honestly, if you’ve been feeling tired, training has been taking its toll and you’ve been on the cusp of injury with your quad – I would do it at target marathon race pace or just relax. There are SO MANY more half marathons to race in the future. I know it’s hard but the last thing you want to do is overdo it three weeks out from the marathon.

That is just my jaded two cents right now. Take it with a grain of salt. I know how hard it is to run a conservative race when you’re feeling ready to rock.

My theory is that you should always choose 1 or 2- choosing 3 and landing somewhere in between is SO frustrating (for me)! I vote either:

2; or
1: but don’t run 20

..and given your recent burnout feelings, I’d lean towards 2. A good “all out” half could really boost your spirits, but a bad one could wreck the 20-miler, hurt your body AND dampen your enthusiasm, whereas a solid ‘thon-paced half (+ 7) will hopefully make you feel like a total rockstar!

im no running expert- but i have read/heard from some very good runners that if you run a half marathon full out that it is equivalent or harder on your body than a 20 miler. So if it were me- I’d prolly just- try and run it full out (which is honestly hard not to do) and just maybe do a few miles warm up/cool down and call it a day. or 2- try and pace it around race pace and run the rest of the run at a normal 20 mile pace. Good luck, either way you’ll be awesome 🙂

Ok, here is my two cents, though of course, in the end you need to do whatever you feel most comfortable with (especially remembering that I am much better at giving advice than taking it! haha)

I do not think you should race this half. You’ve been feeling tired and semi-hurt lately, and even though the massage/yoga makes you feel better NOW, I’m worried that putting yourself under the stress of another race could just make it worse later. You said it yourself in an earlier post — you’ve been training for races without a break for a very long time now and your body is getting worn out. Your goal here is the marathon, and qualifying. Although it’s fun to PR in a half (and could maybe boost your confidence), the physical toll it’ll take on your body when you go all out and then run 7 extra miles might not be worth it.

That being said, if you get there and find yourself caught up in the adrenaline of the race (which I know could easily happen to me!), then just race the half and forget about the extra mileage — like waz said above.

Personally, I would lean toward a mixture of 3 & 2 in your approach. Get there and see how your body feels! It could be really good for your training to run the half at your goal marathon pace (and also a confidence booster!), so if you’re feeling good, aim for that. If you feel like you need a little break, though, just stop over-analyzing and run 😉 Have fun with it! It’ll be your last long run before the marathon!! (woot!)

Whatever ends up happening, good luck! You know I’ll want to hear all about it after 😉

I’m totally not a hard core marathoner like you but I would go with 2. Long runs are traditionally supposed to be your “easiest” run of the week pace wise, right? As in you’re adding distance each week (or getting used to a longer distance), so don’t push yourself for an ultra fast time. Even though this is a half mary race, it’s really your long run – 20 miles at that! Being only 22 days out from marathon race day, I wouldn’t want to push too hard in this halfer & risk injury or burnout.

Hey girl….I am not an advanced runner (have done a couple halves and one tri) so I don’t know how helpful I’ll be…

But I kind of think you should run all-out for a PR. I just think you’ll be happier if you do. AND I really think you’ll be fine for your last long run and your full in October. I say go for it. You are in such great shape, and have such a *drive* for your goals, I think you can do it all!!!!!!

My thoughts are either race all out OR do 20 miles. I’m the same way where once I get to the race, I would want to race so I think for me, it would be option 1 and just not worrying about going 20 miles that day. (Btw, I’d LOVE to go that fast…just once…sheesh! 🙂 )

You can also decide during the race that a new PR isn’t possible and slow down to make the other 5 miles doable. Running is magically flexible like that.

If you’re going to the race, it’s kind of hard not going all out, mmm. I think it’s a question of personality, it’s impossible not to get into racing mode.
I would do the race OR the 20 miler. But not both.

I’m not a runner so my advice may mean nothing…but I think option 2 sounds best. That way you’re still prepping for your race, but not overdoing things if you already feel burnt out at all. Glad you’re feeling better than you were though! Training for things can be so draining.

Not sure how much help my suggestions will be, but I recently did a half and I’m training for the Portland Marathon on Oct. 10. I just did my last 21 miler last weekend.

I ran the half marathon on Sept. 5 with the plan of just running it and then adding a few miles to the end to make it a longer run (16 miles or so). Well, at mile 1 I looked down to see it was a 7:54 pace…not easy warm up like I had thought.

So, I went with it and said, “Okay, take it easy and don’t push too hard. I want to have something left in the tank to finish this race.” Slowly, but surely the miles ticked away and each mile was under 8min pace. I finished with a 3+ min half marathon PR of 1:42:40 and then ran a few extra miles once I finished. I didn’t intend to race this half, but all that marathon training paid off in the end.

I am hoping to Boston Qualify, but I’m not banking on it or holding my breath. I don’t want to feel like if I don’t qualify that day, my entire race was a failure. I’m going to run smart and see what my body can do that day. Good luck, lady! I say, race that half!

Hey Jen, I say just run the race and see what happens. You are not wanting to injure yourself right now, so I would say just to run it and have fun with it. Your real goal is to PR in your full marathon!